Area's jobless rate edges up to 11.1 percent

Published: Friday, March 22, 2013 at 10:40 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, March 22, 2013 at 10:40 a.m.

Wilmington continues to find itself stuck in the sand, spinning its wheels in an unemployment rut.

Facts

Unemployment rates

Wilmington area:January 2013 – 11.1%January 2012 – 11%

New Hanover County:January 2013 – 10.4%January 2012 – 10.1%

Pender County:January 2013 – 11.5%January 2012 – 11.7%

Brunswick County:January 2013 – 12.2%January 2012 – 12.5%

Source: N.C. Division of Employment Security

The metro area’s jobless rate inched up in January to 11.1 percent compared with 11 percent a year earlier, the N.C. Division of Employment Security reported Friday. The metro area for this report consisted of New Hanover, Pender and Brunswick counties.

In comparison, North Carolina’s jobless rate in January was 9.5 percent and the country’s, 7.8 percent.

It was not an auspicious start to the new year for Wilmington or the state, but there were some positive signs.

The number of people employed in metro Wilmington rose 2.7 percent – or by 3,600 people – compared with January 2012, the state reported. That was North Carolina’s third best showing behind Asheville and Charlotte.

But at the same time the area’s labor force – the number of people who have work or are looking for it – also rose, by 4,667, said John Quinterno, principal of South by North Strategies in Chapel Hill.

What it shows is that the number of new job seekers is outstripping businesses’ demand for workers, he said. “Demand for labor is still fairly depressed.”

Though there were some positive signs in Wilmington’s numbers – leisure and hospitality jobs were up 8.1 percent, or 1,500 over the year – “employment conditions are not getting better very fast,” said William “Woody” Hall, an economist at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

In the 14 quarters since the official end of the recession in mid-2009, employment has risen only 3 percent, he said.

In contrast, during the 14 quarters that followed the previous recession, in 2001, jobs rebounded by 20 percent, Hall said.

What’s clouding Wilmington’s employment picture?

One factor that remains is its hangover from the financial and real estate collapse and the resulting plunge in construction-related jobs, said Allan Freyer, public policy analyst with the Budget and Tax Center of the N.C. Justice Center in Raleigh.

Charlotte also suffered a spiral down of housing values and construction work, but its economy was more diversified, boosting its turnaround, Freyer said. That said, the Queen City’s jobless rate was still 10 percent in January.

Another factor: The number of people in Wilmington’s labor force is expanding, marked by an influx of people from deeply depressed rural areas, Freyer said.

Wilmington’s showing compared with the state’s 13 other metro areas worsened in January.

The area, which usually runs in the middle of the pack, had the third-highest jobless rate, behind only Rocky Mount, at 14.1 percent, and Hickory, at 11.5 percent.

Across the state, Graham County had the highest unemployment rate at 20.4 percent while Orange County had the lowest at 6.6 percent.

Just as a reminder of how things once were: Wilmington’s jobless rate was 5.3 percent in January 2008, Quinterno said.

“Most labor markets,” he said, “are still nowhere they were five years ago.”

<p>Wilmington continues to find itself stuck in the sand, spinning its wheels in an unemployment rut.</p><p>The metro area's jobless rate inched up in January to 11.1 percent compared with 11 percent a year earlier, the N.C. Division of Employment Security reported Friday. The metro area for this report consisted of New Hanover, Pender and Brunswick counties.</p><p>In comparison, North Carolina's jobless rate in January was 9.5 percent and the country's, 7.8 percent. </p><p>It was not an auspicious start to the new year for Wilmington or the state, but there were some positive signs.</p><p>The number of people employed in metro Wilmington rose 2.7 percent – or by 3,600 people – compared with January 2012, the state reported. That was North Carolina's third best showing behind Asheville and Charlotte.</p><p>But at the same time the area's labor force – the number of people who have work or are looking for it – also rose, by 4,667, said John Quinterno, principal of South by North Strategies in Chapel Hill.</p><p>What it shows is that the number of new job seekers is outstripping businesses' demand for workers, he said. “Demand for labor is still fairly depressed.” </p><p>Though there were some positive signs in Wilmington's numbers – leisure and hospitality jobs were up 8.1 percent, or 1,500 over the year – “employment conditions are not getting better very fast,” said William “Woody” Hall, an economist at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. </p><p>In the 14 quarters since the official end of the recession in mid-2009, employment has risen only 3 percent, he said.</p><p>In contrast, during the 14 quarters that followed the previous recession, in 2001, jobs rebounded by 20 percent, Hall said.</p><p>What's clouding Wilmington's employment picture?</p><p>One factor that remains is its hangover from the financial and real estate collapse and the resulting plunge in construction-related jobs, said Allan Freyer, public policy analyst with the Budget and Tax Center of the N.C. Justice Center in Raleigh.</p><p>Charlotte also suffered a spiral down of housing values and construction work, but its economy was more diversified, boosting its turnaround, Freyer said. That said, the Queen City's jobless rate was still 10 percent in January.</p><p>Another factor: The number of people in Wilmington's labor force is expanding, marked by an influx of people from deeply depressed rural areas, Freyer said.</p><p>Wilmington's showing compared with the state's 13 other metro areas worsened in January.</p><p>The area, which usually runs in the middle of the pack, had the third-highest jobless rate, behind only Rocky Mount, at 14.1 percent, and Hickory, at 11.5 percent. </p><p>Across the state, Graham County had the highest unemployment rate at 20.4 percent while Orange County had the lowest at 6.6 percent. </p><p>Just as a reminder of how things once were: Wilmington's jobless rate was 5.3 percent in January 2008, Quinterno said.</p><p>“Most labor markets,” he said, “are still nowhere they were five years ago.”</p><p><i></p><p><a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic99"><b>Wayne Faulkner</b></a>: 343-2329</p><p>On <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/news41"><b>Twitter</b></a>: @bizniznews</i></p>